Artemisinine is an active ingredient isolated from Artemisia annual. L., well known for its action against malaria.
A number of artemisinine compounds are described for their properties against malaria (IN 173339), in the treatment of toxoplasmosis (U.S. Pat. No. 5,486,535), or for their anti-cancer action, such as, for example, the dimers of artemisinine described in Application WO 9701548.
The compounds of the present invention are, by their novel structure, new and have especially valuable pharmacological properties as anti-tumour agents.